Several minutes later, and Benji and Drew had joined Zack in the glowing armored state, and Benji had confirmed in the process that they were definitely in some bizarre branch of the Lifestream.

"And you know this for sure?" Drew said.

"Well yeah. What did you think the voices were?" Benji asked.

"I don't know about you but my immediate thought was not 'souls of the dead'," Drew said flatly.

"Well, joke's on you," Benji retorted, far too cheerfully.

"Uh, Benji?" Zack asked carefully.

"Yeah, buddy?" Benji asked.

"All these things moving around us…"

"Souls."

"Souls."

"Yep." He popped the P, bouncing on his heels. "So. Let's get our friends and get out before we join 'em, yeah?"

"Hoooooly shit," Zack whispered, green eyes huge.

"Mmmmnah, ain't nothin' holy here."

"Benjamin," Drew said quietly, eyes shut for a moment.

"…yes dear?"

"Shut up." He opened his eyes, looking around. "Or better yet, tell us where to go to get Nik or Kunsel."

"Mmmmm…" Benji considered that. "We ought to be able to use Zack to find Kunsel."

"…I don't have the thing you do," Zack said.

"No, but you still have a soul bond," Benji said. "A spiritual, or in the least metaphysical, connection."

"Yes?"

"Well, we're on the spiritual plane, so it ought to be a lot more tangible," Benji reasoned. "As for Nik… can probably just sense him out by looking for something 'like us' in this mess. Actually that goes for either."

"Paladins?" Zack asked.

"Alive."

"Thank yoooou for the reminder we are surrounded by dead not-people," Zack said. "I haaaaaate that."

"You're welcome." Benji hummed, then hauled Zack into his bubble. "C'mon, hotshot. There's something living that way."

"There ought to be an easier way than just walking," Zack muttered.

"Maybe? We're physical beings in a semi-physical place," Benji said. "So while we could probably be 'less physical' the question is making it back to physical after and I don't know about you, but I don't trust my instincts to carry me that far, I just don't."

"…yeah nah let's not get stuck here, please?" Zack said.

"I feel something," Drew announced, well aware that between the three of them even his enhanced senses fell short, which meant they were close.

"Theeeere he is," Benji said, leading the way. "You napping, Gregor?"

"What's on him?" Zack whispered. "Oh my god, he's wrapped in -"

"Ssssh, he doesn't need to know that right now," Benji whispered, then pushed past Zack. This time, he was gentle, making little swiping motions, shooing the energy he was wrapped in away. "There you are. Like my new duds?"

"…Benji?" Nikolas squinted at him, eyes too bright and dilated in what must have been mounting panic, but he seemed to be calming a little as he registered the trio. "…Drew? Zack?"

"Yes, yes and yes," Benji agreed.

"He got you?" Nikolas asked.

"Me yes," Zack admitted. "This idiot just walked in."

"Excuse you, this idiot is a decorated hero come to save your asses," Benji informed him loftily. "So. Into the bubble and we'll get you some nice new clothes, yeah? These are warmer, anyway."

"…what kind of armor is that?" He asked, obediently following Benji back to the bubble of protection.

"Magic!" Benji grinned. "Best kind. Just need to look you over and then we'll suit you up… looks like you had some bruising but it's already fading so I think we're good to go."

"That's fast," Nikolas said.

"Yeah, well apparently WEAPONs have great healing skills," Benji said off handedly. "I mean, I still hurt but I also enough injuries that being upright this soon is amazing. And don't get me started on mister 'bust every rib' over there."

"Don't look at me," Zack said.

Drew just sighed. "We need to find Kunsel."

"Right." Zack frowned. "Let me see what I can feel out while you, uh, armor up Nik."

"Awesome, can do!" Benji nodded. "Seriously, try and see if there's a link or something."

"If there is a literal red string of fate tied to me somewhere I'm gonna lose it," Zack muttered, then fell conspicuously silent.

"Zack?" Drew asked after a moment.

"So I'm trying to picture the link, right?" Zack said, voice all too even.

"Should be, yeah," Benji agreed. "Did you?"

Even with only his eyes showing, you could feel Zack's deadpan stare as he held up a translucent braided cord of shimmery gold and mako blue trailing off into the darkness.

Benji desperately fought the want to laugh, his voice a little squeaky. "Well… not red?"

"Shut up," Zack grumped. "Come on, let's see where it goes."

With Nik armored as well, there was no reason not to - it was as good a lead as any.

"Why not red, though?" Drew asked after a bit.

"Do you want a shitty but simple answer or the probably-accurate brain bending one?" Drew asked.

"…tough call, but I'll go with option two," Drew decided.

"Magic has color," Benji said. "Healing is green, walls and barriers are shaded between blue and purple, summons are red - you get the idea. Even the Lifestream is green. Well… this bit's black, but it's usually green. The point I was making was that we all have magic inside us, so it stands to reason we all have a color. Limit breaks are blue, limit breaks are energy, so I'm going to say that 'blue' is a common color."

"…and the gold?" Zack asked.

Benji stared at him a moment. "And you are glowing what color, again?"

"Oh." Zack considered that. "Huh. Alright. So the blue is Kuns, and it's braided with my gold… that's… pretty cool, actually."

"Magic theory rocks," Benji said firmly. "What are you feeling from him?"

"Pain," Zack said, sobering. "Cold. Serious fatigue, but I think part of that is the cold."

"Cold zaps you, yeah," Benji agreed, patting his shoulder. "C'mon. Can't be too far."

He wasn't, actually. Unlike the rest of them, however, there was no golden glow. Just a hazy figure bound tight with the same black energy.

Zack hurried to him, wiping away the black energy with trembling hands. "Kuns? Babe? It's me."

"Zack," Kunsel breathed hoarsely, sagging into him as if it had taken all he had to stay standing this long.

"I've got you," Zack murmured. "I do. You're okay."

"…what're you wearing?" Kunsel asked blearily. "Is that armor?"

"Pretty neat, huh?" Zack said. "Real live paladin now."

"Oh my god, Zack." Still, he was smiling and that was good. "You dork."

"Maybe. But I'm your knight in shining armor, here to rescue you," he informed him.

Kunsel groaned and leaned into him. "…you're hot."

"Why thank -"

"Temperature hot," he clarified immediately.

"That too, yeah." Zack agreed, petting his hair.

"We need to get out of here," Nikolas said quietly. "He's not doing so hot."

"And we're at a hell of a disadvantage in here, yeah," Benji agreed. "For lots of not fun reasons."

"We'll skip discussing the specific reasons and move on to how do we get out?" Drew said.

"And that is a good freaking question," Benji agreed, frowning deeply as he looked around. "I think this is an instance of 'walk towards the light' but hell if I know where it'll spit us out at."

"Okay wait, so we're in the Lifestream somehow," Zack said, patting Kunsel when he made nervous sounds. "Which is… made of floaty dead spirits, apparently."

"Zack -"

"And you want us to walk towards the light?" Zack said.

"Well yeah. Sort've reverse-dyingish?" Benji reasoned. "The light's the other side, well… what's the other side of here?"

There was a long, very uncomfortable moment while they all processed that.

"…dead spirits?" Kunsel said faintly.

"Yep."

"…you know, I'm willing to try the light thing," Drew decided abruptly, looking around. When Benji pointed to the nearest bit of light, he waved to the others and they all began to head that way, Zack scooping Kunsel into his arms when he swayed on his feet.

Unfortunately, in a place like this it was almost impossible to discern distance. It hadn't seemed like it was that far, but they just kept walking. And walking. And walking.

"Is it just me or are we not getting anywhere?" Zack asked.

"Hard to say. Things are… sort of warped right now," Drew said, frowning. "A lot warped. And this is still a guess at best."

"Educated guess!" Benji insisted.

Drew snorted. "Mmhm. So. It's less, in my opinion, that we know this will work and more that we don't know anything that'd work any better and we can't stay put."

"Never does any good to stand in one place," Benji said. He held up a hand when Drew went to no doubt say otherwise. "Not here."

"Oh. Well you didn't say."

"Smartass," Benji muttered, but he was glad he was feeling upbeat enough to be a pain in the ass.

"Soooooo we keep walking?" Zack asked. "Because that might be a problem."

"Why, what's wrong?" They stopped as one to look at him, and froze.

Zack was fine, at first glance, but his gaze drew their eyes down to Kunsel, laying limp in his arms, far too pale and breathing shallowly. Zack gave him a squeeze. "Babe?"

"Hnnh?" Kunsel tried to rally for him, but it was a hard thing. Mako eyes were dull and unfocused when they were finally dragged open.

"…shit, he needs armor," Benji said.

"I don't think he can concentrate enough for that," Zack said. "It's why I didn't say anything about it earlier."

"If he can't do it," Benji said grimly. "You're just gonna have to do it for him."